UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee 'excited to execute at a high level' at Oklahoma
UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee feels closer to 100 percent and will start at Oklahoma, both he and head coach Gus Malzahn confirmed Monday.
Plumlee, who suffered a knee strain late in the comeback win at Boise State, missed the next three games against Villanova, Kansas State and Baylor. He tried to give it go at Kansas, but those plans were altered a couple plays into the game. He felt a "pop" in his knee and returned to the sideline, concerned perhaps he had reaggravated his injury. All was fine and while he did re-enter for one more series, the decision was made to pull him for the final three quarters.
Now following the bye week, Plumlee says his knee is feeling much better.
"I had a really good practice (Sunday) night, being able to move around and throw it well and move the way I want to move," Plumlee said. "So yeah, I'm really, really thankful for that. Again, shout out to (UCF trainer) Mary (Vander Heiden). She's unbelievable at doing what she does and has helped me a ton to get back."
Plumlee said it's been difficult being a spectator, especially knowing this is his final season.
"As a competitor, it stings having to sit on the sideline and not be out there with your guys," Plumlee said. "I tried to play my role and tried to do my part. I think everybody has a role when it comes to game days. I had to learn my role was different than it was, but I had to learn to play my role. I'm excited to get back into this role because it is what I love to do. I'm excited for Saturday."
The knee brace though will continue to be part of his "uniform," at least for right now.
"I've got to take all the precautions necessary to keep myself safe," Plumlee said. "But, yeah, it's part of the uniform for me right now. And Mary's been really, really awesome. She's worked with some people at DonJoy and Ossur and some other brace places.
"We have a running joke. We have a wall full of braces. I think I have six braces in the training room right now. But it just goes to show you that no stone is left unturned there. They're going to do everything that they can to make sure that you feel good, to make sure that you feel fit and ready to play. And I can't say enough good things about Mary and the team in there."
While Plumlee's focus for Oklahoma will be concentrated on their defensive side of the ball, he's quite familiar with their offense. OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was his former OC at Ole Miss, which followed Lebby's prior stint at UCF.
"Coach Lebby and his offense is unbelievable," Plumlee said. "I really have a lot of respect for him and everything that he's done so far in his career and now getting to showcase that at Oklahoma. Unbelievable coach. He's coached me really, really good and really, really well at Ole Miss. I'm appreciative for my time there with him.
"Special offense, they do some really good schematic stuff. They let their skill guys be really involved in the run game too. And they love to throw deep. So really good offense. When you have a really good quarterback as well, it highlights the offense. And so I'm excited to watch our defense compete against one of the best offenses in the country."
And when Lebby got to Ole Miss, he showed Plumlee and the other Rebel quarterbacks film of what he ran at UCF with Dillon Gabriel.
"Unbelievable quarterback, unbelievable arm," Plumlee said of Gabriel. "A great talent. And then watching the film from Oklahoma as well. He's unbelievably talented."
Defensively, Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in scoring defense allowing just 14 points per game.
"They throw a lot of stuff at you," Plumlee said. "They love to pressure and kind of try to confuse you sometimes. And so we're trying to put a good game plan together, put a good scheme together to combat that. But they ultimately have really good players too. But I think UCF has some really, really good players as well."
There were some frustrating moments in the last few games, but Plumlee said the bye week helped shift their mindset.
"I would no longer say frustrated is the word," Plumlee said. "I would say excited. We have a really, really good opportunity in front of us and looking to do really big things with it.
"I think everybody in the building knows how good that we can be. We know that we are a special football team, that we are a high-level football team. We just haven't put that on display. And that's where the word frustrated came from after the loss last week, because we know that we're better than what we have shown.
"And so this week has really been an opportunity for us to, again, get back to us, get back to hitting the reset button. Hey, guys, realize that we're a really good football team. We just have to go execute, and 11 guys have to do their job every play.
"Easier said than done, but that's the reality of playing college football."
Critics aren't giving UCF a chance against Oklahoma. Plumlee was asked: Why are they wrong?
"We've never, as a team, been one to buy into what other people have to say about us," Plumlee said. "It's something that I learned way back in 2019 (at Ole Miss) when a lot of people had a bunch of good stuff to say about what I was doing and what we were doing as a team.
"And a lot of times I wanted to believe the good things, but kind of tune out the bad things. And that's really, really hard to do. And so personally now for me, I've learned the best thing to do is to not listen to any of it.
"I've learned that the only opinions that matter about what we do or what I do is the people that are in your really tight circle. And for us, it's the people that's in the building. And so we're not one to listen to outside noise.
"Sure, it can be a distraction sometimes, but we try to stay pretty disciplined in that aspect. I know I do, because it can put you in a weird headspace sometimes. And so it's best for me to just focus on the opinions that matter to me the most, which is inside that building and inside my immediate circle.
"Critics are wrong because UCF is a really good football team. And we're going to execute at a high level and I'm excited to do just that."